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EU streamline toll paying system

Published:
24 January 2014

The EU have unveiled a new system that should eventually make European touring a little easier for bikers, with the new European Electronic Toll Service streamlining the paying of tolls across the continent.

What this should mean in practice is that one electronic tag will work across all of Europe’s tolls, allowing a biker to carry the RFID chip in a tankbag or pocket and removing the hassle of paying for tolls by cash or credit card.

This payment system is already used in a number of countries, but currently none of them are compatible with each other, leaving drivers and bikers carrying multiple passes or paying at each toll individually. The EETS will initially run a two-year pilot starting in October 2014 in Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark and Poland before a continent-wide roll-out.

It will allow drivers to instead top up their cards or to receive an invoice at the end of the month, removing much of the hassle from travelling long distances across Europe, and should also allow riders to use the fast lanes present at most tollbooths.